House panel increases pressure on Rosenstein
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee took a key political step Tuesday toward formally censuring Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for the Justice Department’s failure to furnish certain documents to lawmakers, approving a nonbinding resolution that backers hope the full House votes on soon.
The measure, which the panel adopted by a vote of 15 to 11, was promoted by some of the House’s most conservative Republican members as a precursor to more punitive steps they have advocated taking against Rosenstein, such as holding him in contempt of Congress, or even impeaching him, over complaints about the Department’s response to several document requests related to its Russia probe.
“What I want is the full weight of the House saying, ‘give us what we’re entitled to have,’ ” said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a member of the judiciary panel, laying out Congress’ options. “If you get the full House on record saying ‘give us this stuff’ and then they don’t, that’s even better.”
But despite the judiciary committee’s support for their resolution, Jordan and his colleagues do not seem to have the full support of GOP leadership in their efforts.
Jordan said Tuesday that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had guaranteed him and resolution author Rep. Mark Meadows, RN.C., that if the Justice Department did not fully comply with lawmakers’ requests in the coming days, he would put their resolution on the floor for a vote this week.
“If we don’t get what we’re entitled to, the speaker’s been clear,” Jordan said.
Ryan’s office, however, did not echo those plans.
“We expect full compliance,” Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said, while not endorsing Jordan’s words. “We hope that we get these documents in full soon.”
Even the judiciary panel’s chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said Tuesday that while he supported the resolution, he did “not believe that this ... is completely necessary.”
Members of the House intelligence committee were particularly wary of the speed with which Jordan suggested the House might move on the Meadows resolution.
The resolution seeks documents related to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court filings and wiretaps of President Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser Carter Page, as well as any information the FBI or Justice Department gave to Trump and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns during briefings.
The committee also approved an amendment that broadened the resolution to include language instructing the Justice Department to comply with outstanding subpoenas as well as “all documents requested by Congress,” in unredacted form.
Both the House intelligence and Judiciary committees have issued subpoenas for outstanding documents that top law enforcement officials have said they are trying to fulfill.
But members of the intelligence panel have a slightly different focus, as well as higher security clearance to view certain materials — and some GOP members of that panel worried that “it may be a little bit premature” for the House to move forward on the resolution reprimanding Rosenstein.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Virginia has rejected Trump’s former campaign chairman’s move to throw out charges brought by the special counsel in the Russia investigation.
The decision Tuesday was a setback for Paul Manafort in his defense against numerous tax and bank fraud charges. Manafort had argued that Mueller’s investigation had exceeded its authority because the case was unrelated to Russian election interference.